Hi,

Welcome to the Procrastilearning Newsletter, where your time is well spent even though you should probably be doing something else.

3 things worth procrastilearning over

1. There's a sport you play with a goat carcass

Afghanistan's national sport is a bit like polo, in that you play while riding a horse. But it differs slightly from there: the aim of the game is to steal a goat carcass and put it in a goal.

Watching that video, you'll be unsurprised to learn that buzkashi players get injured all the time. You can watch an interview with one happy player here covered in bandages. The sport has similar variants in different central Asian countries too, although it is often now played with a fake goat instead of a real carcass - yes, I can hear you booing in disappointment.

2. There are online forums that encourage people to commit suicide

They say you can find an online community for any interest you have. Unfortunately, that also includes any tragically bad interests you might have too, even the ultimate from of self-harm.

But online forums aren’t the most famous location associated with suicide. Did you know that Japan has a so-called 'suicide forest'? Since the 1960s, Aokighara on the side of Mount Fuji has become a place where many people go to draw their last breath. The name means ‘Sea of Trees’, which you'll find lots of musicians have used as an album or song name. This one is good.

3. Young people use AI chatbots as operating systems

Older people just use AI like Google, younger adults use it for advice, and teens and students just use them for everything.

This tendency, as the inventor of the hashtag Chris Messina says, is why there are now Internet browsers being developed that just do everything for you. I keep trying to understand how that will work, but maybe I'm already too old 👴. But on the other hand, I'm quite happy to find more reasons to avoid Chrome.

These indications about regular use makes me wonder: given that phones and social media have noticeably messed with the head of Gen Z, what kind of brains will Gen Alpha (those born after 2010) have?

2 quotes to keep in mind

1 simple tip for when you're feeling low

Have face-to-face time with a friend.

Studies have found that people in more developed countries are generally getting more unhappy. It's not a lack of wealth as might be the case in poorer countries, but rather the disassociation that comes from using digital communications. Teenagers are noticing it makes them feel bad and want to cut down, and you’d assume all age groups are having similar feelings. A simple fix is to try and increase real-life interactions over digital interactions.

That's all for today. Many thanks for reading.

Adam

Adam Zulawski
Procrastilearning on Beehiiv / More stuff

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